Bears take chances in 2nd and 3rd rounds of NFL draft

In 11 seasons under Jerry Angelo, the Bears rarely struck fear in opponents with their wide receivers, a critical problem at the heart of the team's passing game.

In two months, Phil Emery has done more and taken the kind of calculated risks Angelo avoided. His first move at the start of the league year was trading for Brandon Marshall, no stranger to off-field trouble, and his second move in the NFL draft was a trade up in the second round Friday night to select South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, a super productive playmaker coming off a disappointing junior season with questions about his makeup.

The Bears have gone nine seasons since Marty Booker had 1,000 yards in 2002, the longest streak in the NFL and one that should end with Jay Cutler slinging the ball to an overhauled cast of wideouts.

Jeffery will have the chance to compete for playing time and it is clear the team targeted him after the first round ended as Emery traded his fifth-round pick (150th overall) to the Rams to move up five slots to No. 45 to choose Jeffery. Emery said the Bears has Jeffery among the top three receivers available, though he was the seventh selected.

"We feel Alshon has the best hands in the draft," Emery said, putting him ahead of Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd. "We feel he is the best at adjusting to the ball. We feel he is the best sideline and end zone catcher in the draft.

"He's dynamic with the ball in his hands. He's a big man, he's strong, he's tough. He doesn't go down easy. He's a good route runner for the routes they put him in. I was at his pro day workout, which was outstanding."

The second night of the draft was completed when the Bears selected Oregon State safety Brandon Hardin with the 79th overall pick. It marked the eighth consecutive year the Bears have drafted a safety and the third straight a third-round pick has been spent on a position that has been marked with personnel errors under coach Lovie Smith.

The Bears plan to use Jeffery as the flanker opposite Marshall, who is a split end. Cutler has shown an affinity for big targets and the rookie is 6 foot 3, 216 pounds.

Jeffery had 88 receptions for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore in 2010 and scouts considered him a first-round talent entering last season. But the Gamecocks had quarterback turmoil and Jeffery played at 232 pounds leading to him catching only 49 passes for 762 yards and eight touchdowns. Jeffery told Emery he played at that weight as a sophomore too.

"It wasn't either one," Jeffery said about the quarterback issues and his weight. "We found that teams were going to double-, triple-team us and give us the run, so we were going to run the ball a lot more. It was just one of those things. We won 11 games, we broke school records, so it worked out for us."

Jeffery said he weighs 212 now and expects to play between 215 and 220. If he can click, imagine how different the offense would look with Marshall, Jeffery and either Devin Hester or Earl Bennett on the field. Jeffery pledged to work hard and the team obviously got the answers it wanted when he was brought in for a pre-draft visit.

"When I get to Chicago you can see for yourself firsthand and the team as well," Jeffery said. "So they can talk about (my) work ethic and see for themselves. I'm just ready."

Angelo was more conservative at the receiver position. He ventured out in free agency to add Muhsin Muhammad in 2005 when the veteran was nearing the end of his career. The Bears traded Booker in one of the first moves under Smith in 2004 to get the pass rusher the new coach demanded in Adewale Ogunleye. Bernard Berrian, a third-round pick in 2004, was a solid performer for two seasons.

But most of Angelo's selections at the position fizzled and the club resisted calls for an extreme makeover.

The move for Hardin was somewhat surprising considering the faith the Bears have expressed in Chris Conte and Major Wright, third-round picks the last two years. But Conte (nine starts) and Wright (11) are unproven still and Wright has a history now of minor injuries. Hardin missed all last season with a broken shoulder but the team has cleared him medically.